Would be mace if it were the shells…The only nut I know that produces another spice of its own shell.
Not the shell. The husk. But this might have been what they meant.
Summarizing all info into this post, up to this point: At this day, nobody knows certainly what SP stands for. We also ignore the first documents where SP designation appeared, supposedly used by clerks in record books. However, there are some clues that lead to several conclusions: – If " SP" designation stands for one word, then it seems to mean " spanish". – If it stands for two words ( S.P. ), then it seems to mean " Spanish Prize". If we rely on historical evidence, there are some antique documents that would proof the prior use of this name. – About other names: - Sheffield Proud/Plain - they seem to be more recent designations (final XIX - XX Centuries), a commercial attempt to put a end to this mistery, based on the Sheffield established factories that pioneered the making of Snuff in England. - Spanish Plain - If this would be true, then it should mean that there was a Spanish scented out there, and it´s not the case. - S.P. as acronym like S.M., C.M., K.B., etc- designations from some snuff makers, but the case is we know what every two letters stand for, except for S.P. (it does not make sense we know every other but not this only one, so this latter must be much older and obscured). Maybe, IMHO, a reason to use the S.P. designation was to hide someway the origin of this notorious sort to a growing number of new consumers in a rising empire: No reason for being proud that a british made snuff of certain success was coming from a Spanish Prize. A national successful product known as an imitation of looted foreign snuff doesn´t sound politically acceptable to Gentlemen (and wannabes) of a Great Empire! No way!. So, just as a supposition, maybe the tricky SP remained to name this sort of snuff. - Sales & Pollard - A commercial attempt to register SP snuff as a trademark, so, very much later than SP designation start. There goes my 2 cents; First, an historical intro: In Spain, after “Instruccion de 1684” by “Real Hacienda” (Royal Treasury), was stablished a state monopoly about tobacco throughout the Spanish Empire. This monopoly was short-lived, and suffered subsequent revisions after some more “Instrucciones”, but it established someway a lasting idea: All tobacco coming from Spanish territories abroad (La Habana, Trinidad de La Habana, Trinidad de Guayana, Puerto Rico y Santo Domingo) have to be brought to Seville, and the Tobacco Factory of Seville was the only authorized plant to manufacture snuff and cigars for the whole Spanish Empire and to trade with foreign countries. All tobacco coming to Seville must be raw tobacco, and was detailed and registered here by “La Real Casa de la Contratación”, the Spanish Royal Trade Agency. So the only tobacco products coming from La Habana were Leaf and “Polvomonte”, a coarse base snuff result of the first ground and sieve of Havana Leaf, that was meant to be further processed to become several fine sorts (although some quantities of “Polvomonte” were also sold as is in Spain). If the Vigo fleet was directly coming from La Habana, then the only snuff they carried was that gross “polvomonte”. This perfectly suits the story related by Charles Lillie in “The London Perfumer”, when he writes “It now came to the turn of sea-officers and sailors to be snuff propietors and merchants; for, at Vigo, they became posessed of prodigious quantities of gross snuff, from the Havannah, in bales, bags, and scrows, which were designed for manufacture in differents parts of Spain”.(p.295) Well, this latter part was not actually right. Officially there was only one facility in Spain to manufacture tobacco products, and it was the Royal Factory of Seville. However, it is known that, apart from the regulated market, there were some small shops throughout the peninsula that manufacture some small batches of products from smuggled tobacco, but they were mostly cigars. Before the lines about the Vigo attack, C. Lillie writes that “[…]Port of St. Mary and other adjacent places were plundered. Here, besides some very rich merchandize […] several thousand barrels and casks of fine snuffs were taken […]. Each of these contained four tin canisters of snuff of the best growth, and of the finest Spanish manufacture.”(p. 294-295). At that time, Port of St Mary was one of the most important trade ports of Spain, storing plentiful goods and merchandise. And the snuff stored there was the Sevillian Snuff in its several varieties, waiting to be exported or shipped to other spanish ports by merchants. – Why a gross plain snuff became essented with bergamot? In my opinion, there are two possible answers: +First, that being bergamot an essence used in perfumes and meals in Great Britain by then, at some point someone decided to add it to plain snuff either to enhance it or to disguise a bad quality product, +or second, that its use was a way to imitate the spanish finest snuff (sevillian snuff or “Polvo Sevillano Fino”) looted from Port of St. Mary (Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz). Why bergamot? Many streets and squares of Seville have a large number of bitter orange trees, that provide a distinctive orange blossom perfume in the air during Spring (and, by the way, the best sort of oranges to make the premium english marmalade). The finest sort of perfumed snuff from Seville used, among other ingredients, “almagre” (a kind of red earth or red ochre) to give it a characteristic colour and texture, and “agua de azahar” (orange blossom water, also known as neroli water). Bergamot has some similarity with orange blossom, and adds a citric tone similar to the intended product. Using this known ingredient, the resulting snuff may have a strong resemblance to that Sevillian sort. Also, knowing this last part, we can figure out where the recipe for F&T Seville derives from. But that is another story…
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@Toque As King George was a native speaker of German his “Spanish Prize” may have also meant “Spanish Pinch”.
Simply Perfect
Another possibility: “Doctor J. N. Price of the University of Michigan who has made special study of the early days of Anglo-American tobacco trade recently suggested to the author that the initials signified nothing more romantic than “Scented & Perfumed”, a theory with which the author must rather reluctantly concur.”
And the winner is “Scented Plain”. Thank you and good night.
On a totally non serious note I propose we all make up our own meanings…i’m rocking Superb Powder there i said it.
I have a new theory! I have not read all of this thread though. Unless @Filek is right I think it’s possible SP is not English. What if its Latin or some other language? Just cause English Called it SP does not mean it is going to be an English word.
@Igglet, you should read the whole thread. There are a lot of fascinating theories here which should lead you to the truth. Btw the last of my posts was an accident at work - I was thinking about how Samuel Gawith might thinks about SP. No vodka involved. I don’t even like vodka 
Who’s nose knows? I used to love “classic” SPs like Tom Buck, et. al. but after over use I began to tire of bergamot. I’m convinced it refers to the grind rather than the scent…I could be wrong, but as I’ve mentioned before, Samuel Gawith considers Firedance, Buck’s Fizz and the Crests as SPs, and there’s not a whiff of bergamot in the bunch. They’re not exactly late comers to the snuff game, so they might know something we don’t. It may be shorthand for “Shit Provoker” since it has provoked more than its fair share of shit debate here and elsewhere.
I read all of it shortly after I posted. If its English I think it is just Spanish. If it’s not, I have no clue. I only know English and, a lot of English Grammar Police would say poorly.
I have heard the arguments and I believe that no one knows what the hell SP means. So I have decided to suggest other possibilities for titles for this type of snuff. Take your pick. Snuff Plunder Senseless Puzzle Sly Pretense Slightly Perplexed Strange Passtime Subtle Proposition Silly & Pointless Stupid Politician Superficial Prattle Swindled Prospect Scathing Put-down Hmmm. It seems that I have too much time on my hands.
WoS make a “SP Menthol”. I have it. Im not quite sure what makes it different from any other menthol.
Here’s another theory - the English snuff mills never knew what it stood for. It seems ominous that the origin has been lost despite the wealth of knowledge that has been dug up on old snuffs. It seems more likely to me that SP was the name from the start. We do know that snuff was sometimes aquired as part of a haul or trophy from a victory, so what if one of those trophy barrels just said SP on it. Maybe it referred to what was in the barrel before the snuff, maybe it was a person’s initials or even a shipping code. The new owner, or one of his peers decides that barrel is their favourite snuff and charges one of his subordinates to get English makers to replicate it. “Get me some more of that SP batch made”. The name sticks, and the snuff becomes popular, and as the years roll by mills start adding their own taglines to give meaning to the initials hence the “Spanish Prize” and “Sheffield Pride” - effectively their brand names for their version of the original mysterious SP. Seems to me that any true etymology for the term would have been discovered by now in some of the old texts and historical records. The snuff always having been called SP through inherittance rather than being an anagram seems more likely to me somehow.
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“Viking Blonde snuff is made from high quality flue cured bright Virginia leaf. It is a medium fine ground plain SP style snuff, light brown in colour and moist.” From this and other resources I can only surmise that the term ‘SP’ doesn’t mean a thing. The bergamot, etc that some insist is mandatory for an SP to be an SP may be correct. Research proves otherwise. That said I *repeat myself again: St. Casura is the ultimate SP. *As Chairman of the Department of Redundancy Department Chairman
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That said I *repeat myself again: St. Casura is the ultimate SP.*As Chairman of the Department of Redundancy Department Chairman_
Jaxons SP Premium, M&W Jocks Choice and Toque Berwick Brown (well aired) for me
That said I *repeat myself again: St. Casura is the ultimate SP.
I agree completely @ChefDaniel. St. Casura is the best SP I have had as well.
there is a possibility that could mean “spanish pride” which is what i like to think it means
Spanish 